


Better Together

by lovepollution



Category: Cardinal (TV 2017)
Genre: Awkwardness, Canon Compliant, Canon Continuation, Canon Era, Canon Het Relationship, Canon Related, Canon Relationships, Canon Universe, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Headcanon, In Character, Introspection, Love, Love Confessions, Older Man/Younger Woman, Oral Sex, Post-Canon, Post-Finale, Post-Season/Series 04, Post-Season/Series Finale, References to Canon, Self-Reflection, Sex, Smut, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:08:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26637850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovepollution/pseuds/lovepollution
Summary: “Dad, trust me, Lise wants to speak to you,” Kelly sighed, “to see you. The two of you, you...need each other; I see it even if you don’t. You’re...better together.”Post-finale.
Relationships: John Cardinal/Lise Delorme
Comments: 16
Kudos: 20





	1. Chapter 1

It was the end of another long work day for John, who was sitting at the kitchen table in his still sparsely furnished apartment, reading glasses on, as he picked at a ready meal with a fork whilst simultaneously continuing to look over some case files.

His concentration was broken by the alert from the laptop that sat on the table, telling him a video call was coming through. He clicked accept with a smile, knowing who the caller would be without even looking. 

“Hey dad,” Kelly said, coming through via FaceTime.

“Hi Kel, how’s it going?” John said brightly.

“I got a 93 for that presentation I did.”

“That’s brilliant,” he said, every inch the proud father.

“How are you?” Kelly asked after a second of silence, frowning in concern.

“Good,” John replied with a nod. “The offer finalised on the land for the cottage, so the contractors can start next week.”

“That’s great,” Kelly smiled, before pausing. “I saw Lise on Saturday.”

He visibly brightened. “You did?” he asked, brow raised. “How is she?”

“She’s doing well, the job is going great. She did say she hasn’t spoken to you since she left though.”

“Yeah, uh…” John said, scratching at his beard. “I’ve been busy.”

“Too busy to send an email or a text?” Kelly asked in an accusatory fashion.

John sighed. “She’s got a new life, new job, new friends...she doesn’t need me bothering her.”

“Dad, trust me, Lise wants to speak to you,” Kelly sighed, “to see you. The two of you, you...need each other; I see it even if you don’t. You’re...better together. Please, just send her a text.”

“Alright,” he reluctantly conceded, nodding in defeat. 

“Good,” Kelly said with satisfaction.

John wasn’t lying when he said he had been busy: Dyson had been giving him more and more overtime, although in truth he was glad because it helped keep him occupied, and he guessed that she sensed as much. But still, his reluctance to contact Lise had been more than that. He was, to put it simply, frightened.

The way they had left things had been open and hopeful, and it was easier for him to live off that memory than face what he believed to be probable rejection. In his mind, Lise had moved on quickly, forgetting about her former life in Algonquin Bay, and had probably already met people younger and far more interesting than himself.

He shouldn’t have been surprised that Kelly had seen Lise however; they had always got along well and were now living in the same city. Their burgeoning friendship had given him new hope though; if Lise hadn’t forgotten Kelly, then that must mean he still featured somewhere in her mind.

He was never good with phone calls either, and it hadn’t occurred to him a text might work before Kelly suggested it. His daughter was wise enough to know that being a man of few words, John valued face-to-face conversation more; it meant spaces of silence weren’t uncomfortable, and that his facial expressions could relay his feelings better than his words could. While texting may not be the perfect answer, it would work to break the ice, then perhaps he would suggest FaceTime.

‘Hi, how’s it going?’ were the simple words he chose to text Lise in the end, after 30 minutes or so of typing, deleting and debating them. ‘It’s John, by the way,’ he decided to add, just in case she had removed her number from her contacts.

Less than a minute later, his phone indicated he had a reply.

‘Hi! 😀 I’m good, how are you?’ was Lise’s cheerful response.

Lise certainly seemed happy to hear from him, he thought, smiling emoji and all; maybe Kelly was right afterall.

He decided to answer honestly: ‘Good, but work is busy as always.’

After he’d sent the message, he typed another: ‘It’s not the same without you.’ His finger hovered over the send button while Lise watched the three dots indicating he was writing eagerly, but was left wondering what he never said when the dots disappeared and John deleted the text.

‘Dyson still overworking you then?’ she asked John.

He smiled as he typed his reply. ‘As always! How is the new job going?’

‘It’s going well.’ Lise bit her lip, trying to carefully think of how to word the next part. ‘I miss the old team though.’

While he knew he shouldn’t be pleased Lise felt like she hadn’t quite slotted in yet, John got pleasure out of the idea that he was the main team member she missed. ‘It’ll take time,’ was the best he could eventually come up with a response, still too cautious to say that he missed her too.

‘I’ve got to go now, they’ve got me working this crazy late shift tonight,’ Lise typed and then sent. ‘But text me again soon?’ she added.

Hesitant of sounding too enthusiastic, John decided that ‘Sure’ was a solid response. He added a smiling emoji as an afterthought.

‘Goodnight 😀,’ Lise signed off, her smile echoing the one she’d represented on screen.

* * *

‘I was wondering,’ John texted Lise almost two days later, trying hard not to look over keen, ‘if we could FaceTime?’. Not wanting to sound in any way demanding, he added, ‘If you have the time.’

When Lise finally got a chance to look at her phone - she’d been busy for the previous hour interviewing a difficult suspect - seeing John had texted her gave her a lift to her day.

‘I’d like that,’ she told him. ‘I can call you at eight if that’s for you?’

John pondered for a minute whether or not to send the first words that came to mind, but eventually he decided to go with them, ‘It’s a date.’

There was a knot of excitement in the pit of Lise’s stomach when she returned home from work that evening. She opted for Chinese takeout for dinner, and ate it on a kind of autopilot thinking about the pending video call. It was ridiculous, she knew, to be feeling like a teenager again over a potential chat with her former co-worker when she had already slept with him; it was like she was experiencing things in her relationship with John in reverse.

The month since she’d last seen him, Lise had started her new job - where she was finally starting to feel like she could settle - and moved into her new apartment. The rooms still looked sparser than she would like - much as they had in the Algonquin Bay apartment she occupied solo - but she had never been great at putting down solid roots, even when she was with Josh. Although she tried not to overanalyze herself too much, it had crossed her mind that maybe she never really felt at home in those places, either alone or with the people she’d shared them with.

Lise was never big into makeup, but she decided to apply a little concealer and mascara pre-FaceTime; she told herself it was because video calls could really wash you out, but the desire to look attractive John lurked at the back of her motivation.

Phone in one hand and glass of white wine in the other, she awaited the call to come through, with the TV on in the background for some kind of distraction, not that she would’ve been able to say what was on it. A few seconds after her phone signalled it was 8pm, John’s call came through, filling Lise with reassurance because it was exactly like him to stick rigidly to the time.

“Hi!” she beamed, placing her wine glass carefully on the coffee table.

“Hi,” John said, equally as happy as she was, but in his usual less demonstrative way. He took a shaky breath of what came across as relief before he eased the conversation into beginning, “How was your day?”

“Oh good, but you know how it is with difficult suspects...” she sighed, before brightening. “How about you?”

John gave a slight smile as he cocked his head to the side before answering, “Pretty much the same as yours I think. At least Dyson is off your back now.”

“I don’t know,” Lise said thoughtfully, “Dyson isn’t so bad.” She scrunched her face in thought before making a confession. “I kind of miss...her.” ‘I miss you too,’ she wanted to add.

“Yeah,” John agreed, “she’s not so bad.” The conversation stilted for a moment, Lise still thinking about what she hadn’t said, but John decided to be the one to break the silence. “So, Kelly said she saw you at the weekend.”

“Yes,” Lise replied, sunnily, pushing her hair behind her ears in a nervous tick that reminded her why she usually kept it taken back. “It was so nice to see her again. She’s doing great in school,” she continued, oddly prideful. “I think she misses you.” ‘So do I,’ came the next words, dying inside her throat.

“Yeah, I uh,” John fumbled, “I’ll have to come down and see her again soon.”

“Yeah, you should,” Lise encouraged warmly, biting her lip. “I’d like to see you too.” The words now out there, she held her breath in hope of a positive response from John.

“I’d...I’d really like,” he replied, a smile creeping onto his features.

“Yeah?” she asked him.

“Yeah,” John confirmed, emanating a warm relief that they were both on the same page.


	2. Chapter 2

Two months after Lise had left Algonquin Bay, John was finally able to find some time away from work to make the trip down to Toronto. Ostensibly, he was taking the trip to see Kelly, but in reality, seeing Lise felt like much more than just an added extra.

"I'm coming down to see Kelly next weekend," he had told Lise on one of their now routine evening FaceTime calls.

"Oh yeah?" she had replied, excited in anticipation of where his words might be heading.

"So, if you'd erm," he cleared his throat, "if you want...I mean, if you have the time, we could...meet up. Just for dinner, or...coffee even."

"That would be...great," she beamed.

So, the day after John had spent some time with Kelly, it was at last time for him to meet with Lise.

He was early to the coffee shop she had chosen, but still found himself unfixing his stare from the door and compulsively checking his watch every 30 seconds, in some hope that the 15 minutes until she was due to arrive might disappear.

In truth, John was relieved that she had picked coffee as it felt much less pressure for a first date than dinner. 'First date,' he repeated internally, wondering if Lise saw their future relationship as romantic, while also pondering what a more appropriate term might be for meeting up with a woman you'd known for years prior and had even already had sex with.

Now of course, his mind was on the night they'd spent together months earlier. He had found himself replaying the events more times than he'd like to admit, especially on nights where he felt down and lonely, and the prospect of being with a woman again - let alone one as intelligent and beautiful as Lise - felt like a distant dream.

It wasn't like he didn't get any female attention; he saw the way women would sometimes look at him or make clumsy attempts at flirting, but more often than not, it just made him feel uncomfortable. He had been with Catherine from a young age, and he always enjoyed the security of that; even as a younger man, he hadn't enjoyed "dating", hating the pretences and falsities that came with it.

Lost in thought, he was jolted back to the present when Lise finally walked into the coffee shop. Wrapped warmly in a padded coat, her face lit up as she made eye contact with John.

"Hi," she greeted him with a smile.

Not sure how to react, John stood and met with her in a slightly awkward embrace; with neither one sure where to put their arms or place their heads, they almost bumped heads, before eventually finding a comfortable position and hugging for a brief second. As they parted, they both laughed nervously. John, ever the gentleman, automatically and without thought, pulled Lise's chair out for her and her cheeks warmed with gratitude over how lucky she was to know him.

"Still just black?" John asked Lise as he headed to the counter.

Lise nodded, smiling to herself that John still remembered how she took her coffee.

She watched John across the cafe as he paid for the drinks. He looked tired, she thought. FaceTime hadn't shown the dark circles under his eyes, or accurately portrayed the slight hollowing in his cheeks that indicated he'd lost a few pounds. Lise knew Kelly worried about him, so she made a mental note to text her later and ask how the visit with John had gone, thus giving Kelly the opportunity to unburden any worries she may have had about her father.

"Here," John said, setting the drink down in front of Lise before taking a seat opposite her.

"It's so good to finally see you," Lise told him. "I've missed you," she added, her tone softer than before.

"I've…" John struggled to get his feelings out, "I've missed you too."

Lise gave him the kind of smile that brought him instant warmth. "You look," she frowned in worry, "tired."

John gave a half smile, half grimace. "Yeah, work has just been…" he sighed. "You know how it can get."

Lise nodded stoically. "I do."

A moment of silent stillness came between them, and without thinking, Lise found herself reaching across the table to touch John's hand. He remained quiet, glancing down as her fingers grazed the back of his hand. Looking up slowly, he met her gaze as he moved his thumb purposefully to brush against hers, moving it back and forth in a slow rhythm. Lise looked at him and smiled warmly.

They continued to sit this way, hands touching across the table, for the remainder of their stay, as they chatted and remanised. As the minutes ticked away, the touch they shared became bolder and more solid, John's hand eventually engulfing Lise's much smaller one.

"The cottage is really coming along," he picked up his phone with one handed and swiped through to show her a few pictures. "The contractors think they should be done in a couple of months."

"It looks great. I know Kelly can't wait to get up there."

John chuckled slightly. "It's going to be a while until it's warm enough for her to go jumping off the dock like she did when she was a kid." An easy silence fell between them. "Work still going well?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's good," Lise nodded firmly. "I'm still settling in, but I'm getting there."

"No regrets about leaving Algonquin Bay?"

"No," Lise answered quickly, before thinking better of it. "Well, maybe one," she told him, making eye contact to solidify her point, and John gave a smile as he squeezed her hand in response. "What time are you leaving?"

"Er," John looked at his watch, surprise on his face when he saw the time, "soon actually." He saw Lise's face fall slightly. "I've got an early start tomorrow and I don't want to do too much of the drive in the dark."

Lise bit her lip and nodded. "You'll have to stay longer next time."

"Yeah," he agreed. "I will."

After bundling themselves back up in coats and scarves, they stood outside the coffee shop to say their goodbyes. John leaned in for a hug that Lise was only too happy to return as she held onto him tightly, closing her eyes. After a few seconds, they moved back from each other, but their arms remained wrapped around each other as warm breath tickled each of their faces.

It was odd that they had slept together and knew each other so well, yet this would be the first time they'd kissed out in the real world, not behind closed doors. Other people seeing them, even if they were strangers, somehow made the whole thing that much realer.

It was a soft kiss, hesitant at first on both their parts. They parted an inch after the initial meeting of lips, and on the second touch the kiss grew surer and more tender, mouths opening and tongues touching as John pulled Lise close. Knowing now was not the time to get carried away, he pulled back after a few seconds.

"I erm," he fumbled, flustered, with his face flushed and his heart racing. "I should probably get going."

"Right," Lise nodded, understanding implicitly that this wasn't a rejection of her: instead the opposite, in that John didn't want to be making out in public like a horny teenager. "You'll come down again soon?"

John nodded solidly. "I'll er...I'll text you when I get home. FaceTime tomorrow, the usual time?"

"Yes," Lise smiled.

They stood awkwardly for a moment before Lise went in for a final hug. She closed her eyes when his arms wrapped around her, soaking in the comfort of the closeness. When they parted and stepped away from each other, John mouthed a goodbye and Lise followed suit, holding her hand up for a second in a vague waving motion, as John smiled and walked away.

Over a week later, on one of their FaceTime calls, Lise braved her fears and asked John a question.

"I was wondering if you could...I mean, if you wanted to…" she fumbled nervously, "come down next Friday?" Her brows raised in an expression of hope. "There's this...work thing, a charity gala..."

"Sure," John replied with a gentle smile, flattered she wanted him with her.

"If you can't get time off, I understand," Lise continued, giving him an easy way to back out, lest he feel obligated to say yes.

"No, no, I've got some leave I can take," he insisted, shaking his head in certainty. "Dyson still owes me a favour anyway after I agreed to take some extra shifts last month."

"OK, great," Lise smiled in relief. "It's er, black tie, so you'd need a suit or a tux."

"OK."

"OK," Lise echoed, as she began mentally planning what the hell she was going to wear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and hanging in there! I know not a _whole_ lot happened in this here, but I promise things are going to get moving in the next part. Expect the next chapter to come quicker than this one because it's more dialogue heavy and that's my favourite thing to write. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the wait guys, but as I promised, the action happens in this chapter! Also, it's twice the length of the other ones, so maybe you can forgive me for the wait. ;)

On the long drive down to Toronto, John had plenty of time to reflect on his feelings for Lise and where they might lead.

He was proud that she asked him to this gala; proud that she wanted him on her arm. There was part of him that had wondered, if they had a relationship, how would she feel introducing him - someone technically old enough to be her father - to her new friends or colleagues? Although he tried not to dwell on their age difference, there were times he found it impossible not to.

He would stare at himself in the mirror sometimes and look at the lines that littered his face, see the grey in his beard and temples, and question why she would ever want him. She could have someone her own age, or younger even. While John was fit for his age, the number cast a shadow over him whenever he was forced to wear his reading glasses, or on those occasions he couldn't keep up with Lise at the gym without needing a break.

He felt apprehensive too for another reason. On his previous trip down, his primary goal had, at least on the surface, been to see Kelly, so it was only natural that he would book a hotel for the night as she had no room for him to sleep; this trip was different however. This time Lise has asked him to come, just for her, but made no mention of sleeping arrangements. Was he meant to assume he would stay with her or otherwise? To ask felt almost rude, like he would be insulting her to not know. John debated before finally deciding he was better safe than sorry and booked a hotel, just in case. If Lise really did see this more as a friendship and was simply desperate for accompaniment rather than seeing it as a date, his pride at least would remain intact.

His sat nav guided him into the parking lot of her building, and after a few seconds and a steadying breath, he got out of the car and headed for her door.

"Hi," Lise greeted him brightly, eyes sparkling. She was dressed down in leggings and a t-shirt, hair pulled back and face free of makeup, and it was a look John suddenly realised he found curiously irresistible. Swallowing, he pulled himself together and saw Lise had noticed his lack of luggage. "You can get your bags from the car if you want…"

"I uh," he said, swallowing again as he shifted awkwardly. "I booked a hotel, I didn't know if…"

Lise nodded, finding his hesitancy to assume anything about their relationship - even if they had already slept together - sweetly old fashioned. "If you can get a refund, I'd really like it if you'd stay here, with me," she offered. "I can take the couch if-"

"No," he interrupted. "I'd never ask you to do that, it's your bed after all." Lise's heart sunk a bit, fearing that maybe he did only want a friendship. Seeing her crestfallen expression, John decided to be brave and say what he really wanted to. "And I...I'd like it if we could…" he struggled getting his words out, his mouth dry with irrational nerves. "I'd like it if we could sleep...together, in the same bed."

Lise's face filled with relief and her eyes beamed warmly. "I'd like that too."

"I'll go and get my bags," John affirmed, "and...cancel that hotel," he added with a wry smile. Turning on his heel to complete said tasks, he let out a sigh of relief, gratefully to finally be sure that he and Lise were on the exact same page.

* * *

"The Uber is here!" John called to Lise from the living room. She'd been getting ready for close to an hour now, but he knew enough about women to realise that would be considered a short amount of time for some.

"OK, I'm ready," she said nervously as she rounded the corner and came into view. She was wearing a long, strapless crimson gown; it was probably the most thought she'd ever put into an outfit in her whole life, she realised when she was doing yet another round of late-night online window shopping to find the perfect dress.

"Wow," John said breathily, "you look...amazing."

"Thanks," Lisa blushed, nervously touching her freshly blow dried hair, aware that John had only seen her with her hair down a handful of times. "My feet are going to be in ribbons by the end of the night in these heels," she joked, deflecting what could've turned into a deeper moment. "You look great too."

"Thanks, been a while since I wore one of these," John smiled, gesturing to his tuxedo. "Ready to go?" he asked brightly, cocking his head to the side.

"Ready," she grinned, taking his outstretched hand.

After they'd arrived at the imposingly large venue, they were handed drinks, and then it was time to mingle, Lise realised reluctantly. She never was a fan of parties, let alone ones that had to do with work.

"I work with those two," Lise told John distrectly, seeing they men on the other side of the room had already noticed her presence. She could tell even from a distance away that John was likely the topic they were talking closely about.

"Want to go over?" John offered, picking up on his date's hesitance.

"Yeah, we should," Lise admitted.

John gripped her hand reassuringly tightly in his own as they made the walk across the room.

"Hi Lise," the grey haired older of the two, Alex, offered when she and John walked over.

"Hi," she smiled. "These are Detectives Alex Cooper and Chris Johnson," Lise introduced the men to John, nodding her head to them respectively when she said their names. "This is John, my…" she suddenly realised she had no idea how to introduce him, their relationship still unquantified. "My-"

"Her partner," John interjected boldly, sticking out his hand and shaking with the men.

Lise looked at him apprehensively, relief flooding through her body when he gave her the kind of smile that reached all the way to his eyes, his hand settling reassuringly on the small of her back.

"So, what do you do, John?" Chris, the younger and cockier of the pair, asked.

"I'm a Detective," he told him. "Up in Algonquin Bay."

Chris furrowed his brow in thought. "You look so familiar… You didn't used to work in Toronto, did you?"

John swallowed. "I uh, I did, a while back."

"That's right!" Chris exclaimed upon having a eureka moment. "Cardinal, isn't it? You had a, erm…" he paused, thinking of the right way to phrase it, "a wife with some...issues, right?" He flashed his workmate a glance and got back a subtle but knowing grin.

"I did," John admitted.

"Not together now then or...?" probed Alex, red faced as always, piggybacking on the conversation.

"No, she...she passed away."

"Oh shit, I'm sorry. I had no idea…" Alex scrambled, desperately trying to keep his head above water.

John shook his head. "It's fine," he told the Detective with little conviction.

"You know, I should really go and find my wife," Chris spoke up after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence.

"Yeah, me too," Alex chimed in, eager for an escape. "It was nice to meet you, John."

"You too," John nodded. "And you," he added, directing his comments Chris.

Chris smiled tightly. "Thanks, see you around."

"I'm sorry about that," he said to Lise discreetly, as the men walked away.

"Don't be," she told him nonchalantly. "They should be the ones apologising, they're assholes."

John let out a soft snort of laughter. "I was so caught up worrying about how they'd judge me for my age," he confessed, unable to stop his thoughts from flowing out of his mouth, "that I didn't even think about anyone remembering..." he let the sentence trail off, preferring not to use Catherine's name.

Lise froze for a moment before turning to look at him. "You were worried about that?"

John offered nothing but a few seconds of silence as he looked into Lise's eyes. "C'mon, I think dinner is starting," he eventually said, grabbing her hand and leading her in the direction of their table.

* * *

They had a nice time at the gala, and thankfully any interactions John had with Lise's other colleagues seemed to go more smoothly than the first one. Lise could tell by the way some of the other women looked her way that they were a little envious of her date, even when she and John made an attempt at dancing that ended with them both laughing at their own ineptitude.

By the time they got home, they were both tired, and truthfully, a little buzzed from one too many glasses of champagne. While neither acknowledged it, that extra glass they had each taken was partly to quell the nerves of what their night together might hold.

"Coffee?" Lise asked as they walked through her front door.

"Yeah," John agreed, pulling his already loosened bow tie all the way off and unfastening a couple of buttons near the neck of his shirt.

"My feet are killing me," Lise groaned, kicking of her heels. "Let me just change into something else," she continued as she headed to the bedroom. "You can make the coffee if you want."

By the time Lise returned, now dressed in an oversized t-shirt and leggings, John was sitting on the sofa, two cups of steaming coffee on the table, his jacket now also removed.

"Here," he gestured, patting his lap after Lise had sat down besides him, "I give a pretty good foot massage."

"You don't have to…"

He didn't reply, but gave her a look she recognised to mean that he was genuine with his offer and that he knew she wanted to say yes, so really she would save herself a lot of hassle to just agree.

Swinging round, she lay on the coach with her legs outstretched, bare feet in John's lap.

"Oh wow," Lise said with surprise, "you weren't lying when you said you were good at this."

John just smiled, deciding now wasn't the time to confess his skills had been finely honed on Catherine.

"What you said earlier when I introduced you," Lise eventually worked up the courage to ask after a few moments of silence, not quite brave enough to look at him when she spoke, "about being my partner..." She looked at his face now. "Did you mean that?"

"Yes," he swallowed, fixing her gaze, "I did."

"And you didn't mean _work_ partner…" she asked, double checking what she already knew.

"We're not work partners anymore. And I...I want us to be more than that...a different kind of partners."

Lise nodded, a smile breaking through. "Me too, it's just we've never really talked about what this is...about what we are. I mean, this," she gestured between them, "is great but…"

John nodded in understanding. "You want more." His heart warmed at her smile. "I do too," he admitted, giving a smile of his own. "Can I...can I kiss you now?"

"Yes," Lise answered without hesitation. After swiftly moving back into a normal sitting position with her feet on the ground, she leaned over and pressed her lips against John's, not giving him the chance to go first. The resulting kiss was as sweet and tender as she'd ever experienced.

"You know," John said when they parted, "I almost said boyfriend, but the idea of it...it sounds like I'm back in high school."

Lise laughed. "Do you think we'd have got on in high school?"

"You mean apart from the fact I finished high school…" he quickly did the mental calculations, "...four years before you were born?"

Lise rolled her eyes, not liking him getting hung up over their age difference. "You know what I mean, don't be obtuse," she said, giving him a playful nudge. "I bet you were on the debate team."

John snorted. "Actually...I played football in high school."

"You were a jock?" she asked him in disbelief.

"Well, I wouldn't say that...I may have also, occasionally, been found at chess club. But yeah, I was good at sports," he shrugged, "and that got me on the football team. How about you? Any cheerleading in your past?"

It was Lise's turn to snort. "Hardly, I hung around with kind of the…" she searched for the right word, "alternative crowd I guess? We started this awful band, and I think we kept the local Hot Topic in business." She could tell from John's expression that he had no idea about the store to which she was referring, something she found oddly endearing. "Anyway, cheerleading was the last thing I would've been caught _dead_ doing."

"I've never seen pictures of you when you were younger," John remarked. "If you have any, I'd like to."

"I think my parents have some, I'll have to get them to take some pictures and send them over. I'd like to see pictures of you too."

"They're in a box up at the cottage." John was struck with an idea. "Next time you have a few days, we should go up there, I'd love for you to see it."

"I'd like that too," she smiled, kissing him gently. Tired of dancing around her feelings, she kissed him harder now, with more intention. John took at second to respond, but soon their tongues were melding together in a slow and passionate dance.

Wanting to feel skin, John's hand ghosted under the hem at the back of her t-shirt and he pulled Lise even closer, before his fingers stroked her back in a rhythmic motion while his lips moved to her jaw.

"You know, as much as I liked you in that dress, I think I like you even more in this," he whispered, his lips so close to her ear that his breath tickled it and made her shudder.

"Mmmhmm," Lise hummed, smiling as she revelled in the sensation. It was her turn to search for skin to touch now, and her hand snaked between them and under John's shirt, the electricity of her touch making him jump a little and in turn lose focus on the task at hand. When Lise's hand went lower and her fingers inched down the front of his pants, he was compelled to stop her.

"I erm, I don't want this to be over before it starts," he told her with a nervous laugh. "I'd like us to at least make it to the bedroom."

Lise nodded in understanding, "Bedroom then?" she said, brow raised mischievously.

"Bedroom," John nodded, grinning.

Lise stood and bent to kiss him fervidly, breaking off to grab his hand and lead him to their destination. Clothes were hastily shed as they made their way into the bedroom and over to the bed.

"So beautiful," John whispered in reverie, his fingers tracing the curves of her body as Lise lay below him, completely exposed. She found herself feeling bashful; while this may not have been the first time he'd seen her naked, it was the first time he had studied her body in such detail.

Pulling his head down, she crushed his lips to hers as an act of acknowledgement over how much his soft touch and honeyed words meant to her. As a further expression of her gratitude, her hands slipped lower on John's body and she dipped her head to follow.

"No," he said, stilling her with a firm but gentle touch. "This is about you."

"John…" she protested.

"The first time we were together, I uh…" he blushed slightly. "I was a bit...overwhelmed, but I want to take my time this time."

Lise gave a smile, seeing how nervous he was and realising he'd clearly been thinking about this for a while. "You don't have to prove anything," she reassured him, reaching out and touching his face, "but, I'm OK with taking it slower."

John nodded before he leaned down for another kiss. His mouth found its way to her jaw and then her earlobe, Lise's breath hitching as his teeth grazed there the faintest amount. Her lips moved further down her neck next, sucking so hard at one point that she was sure she was going to be left with a hickey for the first time since she was a teenager.

His mouth, and indeed his hands, continued travelling lower, once again gliding over pale creamy skin. As John moved lower, Lise's heart began to beat faster with anticipation of what she knew was to come.

There was something delicious about the contrast of his beard lightly scratching the inside of her thighs while his mouth so warm, so soft, and so urgent, pressed against her core. Already so turned on, it didn't take much before she was squirming for release, but John it seemed didn't just want to experience that with his mouth.

Much to Lise's chagrin, he pulled his head back, but she didn't have time to protest because within a second, he was inside her. Slick and fast, she gasped as he filled her, her breath feeling like it was knocked from her lungs.

"Merde," she cursed breathily, giving John satisfaction to know that she was too caught up in the moment to think in English.

As she came, she pulled John's body as close to hers as she could, sealing their connection with a searing kiss. Although she had come, she was accurately aware that he had not, but that she learned, was his plan, because John Cardinal was not going to settle for only giving her one orgasm this time.

He continued to move inside her, and Lise could see it was taking all his self control to hang on.

"It's OK," she reassured him, "you can let go."

John shook his head, before moving his hand lower with purpose, in between their bodies before he found the exact spot he was looking for on Lise.

"Oh," she gasped, still swollen and sensitive despite having already found her release, and John was quickly able to coax a second orgasm from her, but this time he allowed himself to match it with his own.

They lay there for a few minutes in a heap, neither of them having the energy or desire to move. Eventually, John pulled out and moved to lay besides Lise.

"I should go and pee," she reluctantly told him, not wanting to break the moment, but also mindful of how painful UTIs could be.

John nodded and pulled her towards him for a brief kiss.

When Lise returned from the bathroom, she saw John's face brighten as she entered the room, and he shifted slightly in the bed so she could slide in beside him. She found a comfortable spot with her head resting in the hollow of his shoulder. He placed a kiss on her head before absent mindedness stroking her hair, their breathing and the gentle ticking of a clock the only sounds.

"I erm," John began, glancing down at Lise to check that while her eyes were closed, she was still awake. "The thing is...the thing is that I love you."

Lise didn't react, her eyes remained closed and John was about to write it off as a failed declaration that she'd slept through, before she surprised him by speaking.

"I know," she told him, finally looking up at him.

"You do?" he asked.

"Yeah," Lise reaffirmed, the corners of her mouth tugging into a smile, "because I love you, too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing smut isn't my forte exactly, so I hope I did at least an OK job of it. Just so you know, I'm not expecting this fic to be very long, probably only another couple of chapters (as already kind of got it all mapped out). Anyway, as always, thanks so much for reading! :)


	4. Chapter 4

Lise turned the key in her front door and opened it with extra care to be quiet. After shedding her coat, she peeked into the living room on a hunch, and sure enough, there was John asleep on the sofa.

"Hey," Lise whispered gently to him, nudging him awake with a touch to his shoulder.

"Hey," John said wearily. "What time is it?" Rubbing his eyes, he placed the reading glasses and book from lap on the coffee table as he sat up from his previously slumped position on the couch.

"Gone two," Lise told him, smiling warmly as she stood over him.

He nodded, raising himself off the sofa with a groan. "I tried to wait up, I must've fallen asleep."

"I told you to go to bed," she shook her head, but recognised that deep down she knew he would never heed the words she'd told him as she hurried to work after a surprise phone call.

"How was it?" John asked, as they walked upstairs and entered the bedroom together.

"Surprising," Lise told him, stripping off her clothes and changing into one of his old t-shirts. "He just kept confessing more and more; and the best thing is, he says he's going to plead guilty, so the victims won't have to give evidence in court."

"That's good," John said - through a mouth full of both toothpaste and a brush - as he poked his head into the bedroom from the ensuite.

Once he'd finished, Lise took her turn in the bathroom, quickly washing her face and swilling with mouthwash in lieu of toothpaste for the sake of brevity.

"You look tired," he told her with concern as she re-entered the bedroom, finding him changed, sitting up in bed and reaching to his bedside table and plugging in his phone to charge.

"I am," she agreed, sliding under the covers and flicking her bedside lamp off in synchronisation with John. They hunkered down together in a familiar way, his arms wrapped around her as her head found a comfortable position on his chest, and Lise hummed with contentment. "I'm glad you're here," she whispered into the darkness, thinking of how she'd grown to hate sleeping alone when he wasn't there, missing the communication and comfort only John could provide after a tough shift at work. Her eyes closed as she nestled her head into the crook of his neck.

"Me too," he whispered as he brushed his lips to her forehead, closing his eyes and soaking in the closeness.

John's visits to Toronto had become more and more frequent. Any hesitantance he'd had at the start of their relationship about how he might fit into her life had melted away when Lise had clarified what she hoped they could have together, and they'd fallen into an easy routine.

His trips were mostly on weekends, but they had had some full weeks together, and John had felt happier and more relaxed than he had in years. They'd spent some time together with Kelly too, who was more than supportive of them as a couple.

As far as the rest of John's life was going, the cottage had been finished for a few months now, and while he had reclaimed his things out of storage and taken them there, he was still staying at his sparse apartment when he wasn't with Lise. He had yet to attempt moving, or to actually unpack anything and begin to make the cottage feel in any way like home.

Sitting at the breakfast table the next morning, it dawned on him that maybe the reason he hadn't made the cottage feel like home was because he already had one, here with Lise. He liked her coming home to him at night and them sharing a nighttime routine together. He liked falling asleep with Lise and waking up with her in the morning. He liked making breakfast for them both and sharing easy conversation over the table as he scanned the newspaper. He already felt at home exactly where he was.

"I've been thinking…" he started, and she looked up at him curiously. "I've been thinking that erm," he swallowed, "that it's time for me to retire."

She nodded. "OK."

"There's nothing left for me up there. Kelly is here, you're here. And work, it's...it's not the same." He stared at her, pulling focus to the reason work wasn't what it was without saying it. "I've still got the cottage up there for trips, but...I think it's time for me to move on. I think it's time for my life to move on."

"OK," Lise smiled easily, completely unphased by the huge life change he was telling her he was ready to make. "If that's what you want, you should do it."

"Don't worry," John added hastily, "I'll get my own place. I'll be nearer Kelly and-"

"Don't," she said quickly, cutting off the rest of his planned sentence.

"Don't?" John's brow creased. "What do you…?"

Lise shook her head. "Don't get your own place."

Fearing he'd misread her reaction, he frowned and attempted to hide how wounded he felt. "I thought..."

"Stay with me," Lise said, getting her words out all at once before she took a deep breath. "Move in here, with me."

John blinked, a look of amazement on his face. "You're serious?"

Lise nodded firmly. "Yes."

"Isn't it...too soon?"

"I'm done waiting." She considered her next words for a moment. "I want to be with you."

John smiled, relieved her feelings for him were as strong as his for her. "Yeah, me too."

"Right, so that's it then, you'll move in with me."

He nodded steadily. "Right."

The joy of the moment overtook Lise, who broke into a big smile, and in turn infected John with the same kind of giddiness. Spontaneously, he lent across the breakfast table and kissed her. She was quick to respond, standing and moving to sit in his lap, her arms wrapping around his neck before her fingers wove into the hair at the nape of his neck.

"I think I'm gonna like living with you," she whispered after they broke the kiss, her mouth still inches from his.

"I think I will too," John smiled broadly in return, going in for another welcome kiss.

* * *

Two months after John had accepted Lise's invitation to move in, he had finally finished the remainder of his time left working at Algonquin Bay and made the move down to Toronto. It was not long after this point Lise came to a reluctant realisation: as much as she hated to admit it, she loved the sense of security that came with him now they finally lived together full time.

One of the many things she loved about him, she realised, was how safe he made her feel. It took a lot for her to accept the fact, fiercely independent as she was, she fought against the feeling - but she could deny it to herself no longer - it was like her whole body gave a sigh of relief when he was around. Whether it was his strong presence walking besides her or the comfort of his arms wrapped around her, she felt completely secure when she was with him. When she made the admission to herself, she also acknowledged another question that had been itching at the back of her mind.

They had been sitting one evening, as they usually did, Lise stretched out on the sofa watching TV, her head resting in John's lap as he read, his book in one hand whilst the other stroked her hair lazily. During a commercial break, she decided to finally venture what she'd been wondering for a while.

"Did you ever think about me?" She checked to see that John had heard her and saw him put his book down and cast his gaze to hers. "About...us?" Lise didn't need to elaborate, she could tell by the look on his face that he knew exactly what she meant.

John swallowed deliberately before answering. "I wasn't blind. I was sceptical when you first came to homicide, you were inexperienced but you...you won me over quickly." His lips twitched into a smile, before his face turned more serious. "Even when I found out you were investigating me...I…" he closed his eyes and shook his head, "I found it easy to forgive you." His expression lightening, he continued: "I thought you were intelligent and...beautiful," he smiled softly as images of Lise from when they first met flooded his brain, before his expression once again turned solemn. "But I...I wouldn't let myself think of you in that way. I _couldn't_ let myself think of you in that way." He shook his head again. "I loved Catherine, no matter what she was going through. I was a married man, and that promise of in sickness and health, it...it meant something to me."

Lise gave him a melancholic smile. Tears pricking at the back of her eyes took her by surprise, and she quickly rubbed them away with the back of her hand. "I thought you hated me when I first met you," she laughed, trying to lighten the mood, "but I still thought you were a brilliant cop, and…" she said, her eyes closing and crinkling as she tried to find the right word, "pragmatic," she finally said, and her eyes opened and danced with light as they fixed on John's warm gaze. "And I liked that. I still like that."

It was John's turn to ask the question now. "Did you ever...think of me, in that way? What we are now."

"I should say no, but…" Lise paused before answering, a little embarrassed over her next confession."I thought you were...handsome," she finally said, blushing slightly and shaking her head. "And," she continued more seriously, "when my relationship with Josh was falling apart I let myself...fantasise from time to time, how things might have been different with someone else. How they might've been different with you. But I never thought it would actually _happen_ ; that seemed insane, especially before Catherine…" she trailed off, not wanting to bring a reminder of such a terrible memory into that conversation.

Lise looked up and saw a flash of sadness on John's face, but it was quickly replaced with a look of adoration as his eyes locked with hers. He pressed his lips to hers tenderly. "I love you," he whispered when he pulled back, caressing her cheek with his thumb.

"I love you too," she said with a smile, her accent thicker as happened when she was truly relaxed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, I'm just...bad at updating. As you can probably feel, this is kind of winding down, so I only expect one more chapter. Cozy, warm and domestic is one of my favourite things to read, so that's why this chapter is 100% that.
> 
> As always, thank you so much for reading and I really hope you enjoy this story (which is basically a more complete ending to the show that I came up with in my head and was compelled to get written down, heh).

**Author's Note:**

> This was kind of a tough first chapter to write; I know where I want to go with the story, so I just needed to write this to get to the rest really. I thought about just starting with them meeting up again, but it didn't feel right somehow, which hopefully means I've kept this true to their characters.


End file.
